The 2008 Big 10 Football Season has produced memorable games , players, teams, and moments. Here's a look at what happened this year.
Biggest Suprise: Minnesota-The Golden Gophers suffered a horrendous season last year going 1-11. An improvement was expected but expectations were held with caution. The Gophers started 7-1 including a signature win at Illinois and are going to the Insight Bowl to play Kansas. Retrurning quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker formed a dynamic passing duo and the big recruiting class brought in by head coach Tim Brewster bolstered the defense. The Gophers lost their last four games including a 55-0 loss to rival Iowa but the improvements made should not not be forgotten. A win in the bowl would put a punctuation mark on the season.
Other surprises: Northwestern and Michigan State
Biggest Disappointment: Illinois-After winning a combined eight games in the four previous years Illinois won nine games last year and made an appearance in the Rose Bowl. While the losses of running back Rashard Mendenhall and linebacker J Leman were big, Illinois brought enough talent back to be as good as last year if not even better. The 2008 Illini failed however to put back to back consistent games together and the team went 5-7 and won't be playing in a bowl game. Turnovers were costly as quarterback Juice Williams threw nine interceptions in the last five games and an inexperienced defensive secondary was beaten time and time again. Illinois has the talent to climb back up the big ten standings next year but must learn from this years mistakes.
Other disappointments: Michigan and Wisconsin
Player of the Year: Iowa running back Shonn Greene-Greene's consistency has been remarkable. He's the only college football player with at least 100 rushing yards in every game. He finished with 1,729 yards on 278 carries which is good for a 6.2 yard average and 17 touchdowns. He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award which is for the Big 10's best player as voted on by the conferences' coaches. Last year, Greene was taking classes at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa City and working in a furniture store for eight dollars an hour because if his poor grades. What a difference a year makes. Greene played a huge part in getting Iowa back to national relevance as they defeated No. 3 Penn Sate, ruining their national title hopes, and won their last three games to go 8-4. Greene, who is a junior, now faces the decision of whether to go on to the NFL, where is draft stock is fairly high, or return to Iowa for his senior year. The Hawkeyes will play South Carolina on January 1st in the Outback Bowl.
Other player of the year canidates: Penn State quarterback Darryl Clark, Ohio State linebacker James Laurinitis, Penn State wide receiver Derrick Williams, Michigan State running back Javon Ringer, and Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn
Game of the year: November 3rd - Iowa City - Iowa 24 Penn State 23 - All Penn State had to do was beat Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan State and they would have been in the national game. The Nittany Lions rolled into Iowa City with a flashy offense led by quarterback Darryl Clark, wide receiver Derrick Williams, and running back Evan Royster, a defense that had dominated most of it's previous opponents, and a 9-0 record which had them ranked number 3. Iowa was 5-4 and coming off a 27-24 loss to Illinois. Kevin Kelly's 3 field goals and a Derrick Williams 9 yard touchdown run late in the 3rd quarter had given Iowa a 23-14 lead. Iowa running back Shonn Greene ran in from six yards out with 9:20 left to make it a 23-21 game. Penn State tried to put the game away, but on 3rd and 24, with 3:50 to go, Darryl Clark overthrew his receiver over the middle at the 15 yard line and Iowa freshman defensive back Tyler Sash intercepted it. Iowa drove down the field and sophomore kicker Daniel Murray drilled a 31 yard field goal, into the wind, right down the middle with 1 second to go. Kinnick Stadium went into a frenzy and Penn State was thrown out of the national championship game. This started Iowa's late season push that has gotten them into the Outback Bowl on January 1st.
Other great games: October 25th - Colombus - Penn State 10 Ohio State 3 and November 1st - Minneapolis - Northwestern 24 Minnesota 17
Coach of the Year: Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster
He took last year's 1-11 Gopher team and turned them into this year's 7-5 bowl bound squad. Brewster hit the recruiting trails hard and came away with a top 25 recruiting class-that's hard to do with a 1-11 team. The recruits stepped in and mixed with the old players to form a solid offense led by Adam Weber and Eric Decker and a much improved defense. With a new stadium coming and many of the key players returning, next years team should be just as good, if not better.
Other coach of the year canidates: Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, and Ohio State head coach Jim Tressell
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Heisman Trophy
On Saturday, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford won the 2008 Heisman Trophy. He, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, and last years winner, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were the three finalists for this prestigious award.
The players stats:
Sam Bradford: Attempts: 442 Completions: 302 68.3% completion percentage
4,463 yards 48 TDs 6 interceptions
40 attempts 65 yards rushing 5 TDs
Colt McCoy: Attempts: 375 Completions: 291 77.1% completion percentage
3,445 yards 32 TDs 7 interceptions
128 attempts 576 yards rushing 10 TDs
Tim Tebow: Attempts: 174 Completions: 268 64.9% completion percentage
2,515 yards 28 TDs 2 interceptions
154 attempts 564 yards rushing 12 TDs
All of these players have had outstanding seasons and I don't really have a problem with the Heisman going to either of them. I think Tim Tebow should have won though. Stat wise, Sam Bradford narrowly had the best season followed by Colt McCoy and then Tim Tebow. The talent on these three teams was roughly the same. Florida has Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, Jeffery Demps, Louis Murphy, and Louis Hernandez. Oklahoma has Juaqin Iglesias, Manuel Johnson, Jermaine Gresham, Chris Brown, DeMarco Murray, Duke Robinson, and Phil Loadholt. Texas has Jordan Shipley, Quan Cosby, and Chris Ogbannaya. The key factor is the defenses Tebow faced were far more difficult ones than Bradford and McCoy faced. Tebow had to go up against the likes of Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida State. McCoy and Bradford faced each others defenses, which would be average defenses in the SEC, and Bradford played against TCU and Cincinnati. Florida had more of an emphasis on the running game than Florida and Oklahoma which slightly brought down Tebow's stats. Tim Tebow meant more to Florida than Bradford or McCoy did to their teams. Not to take anything away from Sam Bradford's or Colt McCoy's fine seasons, but Tim Tebow was the best college football player.
The players stats:
Sam Bradford: Attempts: 442 Completions: 302 68.3% completion percentage
4,463 yards 48 TDs 6 interceptions
40 attempts 65 yards rushing 5 TDs
Colt McCoy: Attempts: 375 Completions: 291 77.1% completion percentage
3,445 yards 32 TDs 7 interceptions
128 attempts 576 yards rushing 10 TDs
Tim Tebow: Attempts: 174 Completions: 268 64.9% completion percentage
2,515 yards 28 TDs 2 interceptions
154 attempts 564 yards rushing 12 TDs
All of these players have had outstanding seasons and I don't really have a problem with the Heisman going to either of them. I think Tim Tebow should have won though. Stat wise, Sam Bradford narrowly had the best season followed by Colt McCoy and then Tim Tebow. The talent on these three teams was roughly the same. Florida has Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, Jeffery Demps, Louis Murphy, and Louis Hernandez. Oklahoma has Juaqin Iglesias, Manuel Johnson, Jermaine Gresham, Chris Brown, DeMarco Murray, Duke Robinson, and Phil Loadholt. Texas has Jordan Shipley, Quan Cosby, and Chris Ogbannaya. The key factor is the defenses Tebow faced were far more difficult ones than Bradford and McCoy faced. Tebow had to go up against the likes of Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida State. McCoy and Bradford faced each others defenses, which would be average defenses in the SEC, and Bradford played against TCU and Cincinnati. Florida had more of an emphasis on the running game than Florida and Oklahoma which slightly brought down Tebow's stats. Tim Tebow meant more to Florida than Bradford or McCoy did to their teams. Not to take anything away from Sam Bradford's or Colt McCoy's fine seasons, but Tim Tebow was the best college football player.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Oklahoma - Texas Controversy
There is a heated debate along the Red River of whether it should be Oklahoma or Texas who plays Florida in the BCS championship game. Each side has worthy arguments.
Oklahoma: Sam Bradford - 68% completion percentage, 4463 yards passing, and 44 TD passes NCAA record 60 points in 5 straight games
Defeated Big East champ Cincinnati 52-26
Defeated a 10-2 TCU team 35-10
Defeated Texas Tech 65-21 - Texas lost to Texas Tech 39-33
Texas: Colt McCoy - 78% completion percentage, 3445 yards passing, 32 TD passes, 576 rushing yards and 10 TDs rushing
Only loss was a last second TD pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech
BEAT OKLAHOMA 45-35 IN DALLAS
We need a playoff where both teams would make it and we wouldn't have this issue. Since that's not going to happen, we've been left with having to choose. It has to be Texas. The Longhorns beat Oklahoma head to head in Dallas. While you can certainly make the argument that Oklahoma is playing better now, the Texas win in October should put them in Miami. Everyone is dazzled with Oklahomas prolific offensive machine, yet are convienently forgetting the 45-35 game. The Oklahoma offense is quite impressive and has put up staggering numbers, but what about the defense? Oklahoma State mustered 24 against Texas, and then 4 weeks later hung 41 on Oklahoma. What was the point of playing each other if the one loss loser could pass up the one loss winner? I'm not a Bevo or Sooner fan so I'm not going to get emotional about it either way, but as a college football fan in general, this is ridiculous. We wouldn't even be having this discussion had Texas safety Drew Gideon not dropped an interception the play before the Crabtree TD. Of course every team has their "if onlys". Texas fans will be talking about "if only's" January 8th when they watch Florida and Oklahoma play for the National Title. A game Texas deserves to be in.
Oklahoma: Sam Bradford - 68% completion percentage, 4463 yards passing, and 44 TD passes NCAA record 60 points in 5 straight games
Defeated Big East champ Cincinnati 52-26
Defeated a 10-2 TCU team 35-10
Defeated Texas Tech 65-21 - Texas lost to Texas Tech 39-33
Texas: Colt McCoy - 78% completion percentage, 3445 yards passing, 32 TD passes, 576 rushing yards and 10 TDs rushing
Only loss was a last second TD pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech
BEAT OKLAHOMA 45-35 IN DALLAS
We need a playoff where both teams would make it and we wouldn't have this issue. Since that's not going to happen, we've been left with having to choose. It has to be Texas. The Longhorns beat Oklahoma head to head in Dallas. While you can certainly make the argument that Oklahoma is playing better now, the Texas win in October should put them in Miami. Everyone is dazzled with Oklahomas prolific offensive machine, yet are convienently forgetting the 45-35 game. The Oklahoma offense is quite impressive and has put up staggering numbers, but what about the defense? Oklahoma State mustered 24 against Texas, and then 4 weeks later hung 41 on Oklahoma. What was the point of playing each other if the one loss loser could pass up the one loss winner? I'm not a Bevo or Sooner fan so I'm not going to get emotional about it either way, but as a college football fan in general, this is ridiculous. We wouldn't even be having this discussion had Texas safety Drew Gideon not dropped an interception the play before the Crabtree TD. Of course every team has their "if onlys". Texas fans will be talking about "if only's" January 8th when they watch Florida and Oklahoma play for the National Title. A game Texas deserves to be in.
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